Dark Titan Journey: Finally Home

by Thomas A. Watson

  “Wait! You aren’t going after my family, are you?” Lonny begged.

  Nathan climbed in his buggy. “Tell you what, Lonny, another deal then. We are setting up on a bluff half a mile from here. We want to make sure the chopper leaves and doesn’t search the area. If I don’t hear you scream, your family will be safe. But if you do scream, I will see them before the end of summer.”

  “I won’t scream, I swear,” Lonny gasped.

  “You said you weren’t going to piss me off, but you did,” Nathan said, starting the engine.

  Lonny shook his head. “I’m sorry. I won’t scream. I will just sit here till the chopper comes. I will tell them to leave this area.”

  “If you don’t scream, your family is safe,” Nathan said, the, drove off. Tom tried not to look but couldn’t help himself. They stopped a hundred yards down the road and Nathan got out, pulling his binoculars up. Nathan watched the coyote slowly creep toward Lonny.

  “Is the coyote going to eat him?” Tom asked beside him. Nathan turned, seeing Tom leaning over the hood with his eye on the spotting scope.

  “You need to get back in the buggy and not watch,” Nathan said, putting the spotting scope away.

  “He’s a bad guy, so it doesn’t matter,” Tom said defiantly.

  Nathan closed his eyes. “Tom, what I’m doing is wrong. I should just kill him. But what they did to that family before they killed them demands revenge. I left a note detailing where to find his body. I want them to know we can fight dirty as well. If they quit doing this evil shit, we will too.”

  “I understand. I want to watch,” Tom said.

  “Tom,” Nathan said, looking back at Lonny. “I’m making sure he will die before they find him. Go get in the buggy.” Grabbing the scope, Tom ran back to his buggy. He climbed in and held up the scope, watching.

  The coyote slowly crept forward. Lonny didn’t hear it, but when he felt a wet nose touch his chest, he jumped. He turned and concentrated on his hearing. He could hear the grass rustle at his feet. “Git,” Lonny snapped in a dry voice, and leaned toward the sound as far as he could.

  Letting out a small yelp, the coyote jumped back. Not seeing Lonny get up, the coyote came back, sniffing at his feet. Lonny could hear the sniffing but didn’t feel it on his feet. They were numb. “Git,” Lonny snapped again, but the coyote didn’t move this time and licked Lonny’s foot.

  Lonny could feel his right leg move as the coyote licked it. Pain shot through his bones when the coyote bit his big toe off. His skin might be numb but his bones weren’t. Lonny bit through his lip, sending more blood down his chest. He felt more pain as the coyote started chewing on his foot.

  With monumental effort, Lonny jerked his legs. “Get out of here!” he barked. The coyote stepped back but knew Lonny was like a calf he would sometimes find, helpless. Letting out a growl, the coyote moved back and started chewing on his calf. Lonny tried to move but could only twitch as pain shook his body. Holding in his screams, he grunted with each bite.

  Nathan lowered his binoculars, seeing another coyote trot up to Lonny, joining the other one. “He’s not screaming,” Nathan said, getting in his buggy. Tom lowered the spotting scope, hearing Nathan’s buggy roll off. He started his and followed. Part of Tom wished he hadn’t looked but had listened to Nathan, while another part wanted to watch until the end.

  Jasmine looked up to see the two buggies pull up under the trees next to the tents. She walked over to Nathan, who was looking up at one camo net for the buggies suspended over the camp area under the tree limbs. The canopy of leaves was thick, but you could see some breaks. But with the net up they couldn’t be seen from above. The stand of trees was fifty yards long and about that wide, with their camp right in the center.

  “Nice,” Nathan said, pointing up.

  Jasmine hugged him. “Yeah, John thought of it and put it up.”

  “How are the girls doing?” Nathan asked as John and Natalie started taking the feed off Tom’s buggy.

  “Amanda walked to use the bathroom by herself and is sitting up. It still hurts Casey too much to walk, so I carry her,” Jasmine said.

  “Let me check on them,” Nathan said, taking off his vest.

  Jasmine grabbed his arm. “Will you please wash off first?” Looking down, Nathan saw dried blood on his clothes. “Your face and hair too.”

  Nathan nodded and started stripping. He grabbed his shaving bag and headed to the lake. Stepping in, Nathan sucked in a breath from the shock of the cold water. Wading out, Nathan scrubbed down and washed his hair. Getting out and drying off, he shaved in the cold water, and his face let him know it didn’t like it.

  With his face burning, he walked back to camp and dressed in new clothes. Putting on a brave face, Nathan went in the tent. Amanda was propped up on her pack with a notebook in her lap, writing in another one. Casey was sitting up, drawing, with her back resting on sleeping bags. They looked up when Nathan walked in and smiled.

  Grabbing the first aid bag, Nathan pulled out his stethoscope and BP cuff, moving over beside Casey. Ares was lying on her other side and looked up at Nathan, giving a little whine. Nathan looked at Casey. She was much paler and her eyes had a sunken appearance. “Hey, girl,” Nathan said, wrapping the BP cuff on her arm. He pulled back the blanket and saw her entire belly was now a bruise and slightly distended. She wouldn’t let him touch it. Her pulse was up and BP was low.

  Moving on to Amanda, Nathan found her getting much better and her lungs were sounding good. She let Nathan press on her chest lightly, and Nathan rubbed her head. “What are you writing?” he asked as he started planning what he could do for Casey.

  “I’m rewriting the notes you made,” she said, shaking her head. “Nathan, you really need to work on your writing.”

  He laughed. “I know, and I will, I promise.”

  “Did you let Lonny go?” she asked as she tried to read his writing.

  Nathan nodded. “Yep, he was making some friends with some coyotes when I left.” Amanda smiled as she tried to read Nathan’s writing. Nathan kissed both of them and stepped out to find Jasmine and the others waiting.

  Waving them away from the tent, Nathan looked at Jasmine. “Casey’s bleeding into her belly.”

  Closing her eyes, Jasmine dropped to her knees. “What can we do?”

  “We can’t operate, so don’t ask. The bleeding looks to be slowing down. Her belly isn’t much bigger than it was this morning, but her pulse is up and her blood pressure’s down. How much fluid has she drunk?” Nathan asked.

  “Not much today. She threw up what I gave her the last two times,” Jasmine said, trying to stand. Nathan helped her up. “What can we do?”

  “She needs fluids. We have three bags of saline, but she really needs some blood,” Nathan said.

  “Can’t we take her somewhere? Hell, even Denver?” Jasmine asked.

  “No,” Nathan said. “They won’t help a little girl even if they could. If I thought they could I would turn myself in if they would take care of her.”

  “Can’t we give her some of our blood?” John asked.

  Looking over at John, Nathan shook his head. “No. We have to know her blood type and the blood type of the person giving it to her or we will just finish what the man that shot her was trying to do.”

  Jasmine grabbed Nathan’s arm. “Casey is AB positive.”

  Jumping back in shock, Nathan gasped. “Are you sure?”

  “You told me to ask their mother everything. When I told Lillian that, she gave me their complete medical history. She was a nurse. Tom, Natalie, and Casey are A positive, and Emma is B positive,” Jasmine said with hope on her face.

  “Do they have any drug allergies?” Nathan asked, and Jasmine shook her head. “I’m O positive, so I’ll give her some. The kids are too little to donate. I’ll start an IV and give her some fluids.”

  “What if she has a reaction?” Jasmine asked. Nathan gave her a look. “I worked in a vet’s office.”

  �
��I have a few doses of IV drugs, but not much. I’ll give her some Benadryl and Tylenol before I start the ones by mouth; we have a lot of that,” Nathan said, moving over to the pack saddles. He pulled out the big medic bag and carried it to the tent.

  Nathan walked in the tent and set the bag down. “Casey, I have to start an IV on you and give you some fluids. Then I’m going to give you some of my blood. When I’m done you will feel better.”

  “I don’t like shots,” Casey moaned as Nathan put two pills in her mouth, making her swallow them with a sip of water.

  “I don’t either, and I have to get one to help you, so you can be tough, can’t you?” Nathan asked. Casey nodded with tears in her eyes. “I’ll go first.” The others were standing at the tent door watching as Nathan took his camo jacket off. The veins on his arm stood out without a tourniquet as he swabbed his arm with alcohol.

  Watching in wonder, the group was astonished when Nathan put an IV in his arm, then taped it down and flushed it. Then he moved over to Casey and put one in her arm. She wasn’t as indifferent as Nathan was about it, but she stayed still.

  As Nathan hooked up a bag of saline, Jasmine stepped inside. “Have you done IV drugs before?”

  “No,” Nathan laughed. “I live alone and I found out long ago the best way to get rid of a hangover is IV fluids. So I learned how to do it myself.”

  Jasmine shook her head. “You are totally crazy.” Nathan just smiled as he hooked up the fluids to Casey’s needle. Nathan dug in the bag and pulled out a syringe connected to plastic tubing. The tubing was about two feet long and the syringe was connected in the middle of the tubing. “That’s a blood transfer device,” Jasmine said, looking at the syringe.

  Nodding in respect, Nathan connected one end to Casey’s IV tubing. “Yes it is. They use them in hospitals for neonates that need blood. You can buy them online and at most vet supplies.”

  “How much do you give her?” Jasmine asked.

  “I’m rounding her weight to twenty-five kilos. For kids you give ten cc’s for every kilogram, so I’ll give her two hundred. This is whole blood, not packed cells, so I have to decrease the amount,” Nathan said as he pulled saline into the transfer device, priming it. When fluid came out his end, Nathan connected it to his IV. “Jasmine, watch how I do this and take over. I’m going to get lightheaded.”

  Jasmine nodded as Nathan closed a clamp on Casey’s end and pulled back the plunger. Blood flowed out of his IV, filling the syringe. When the syringe was full, Nathan clamped his end off and opened Casey’s end. He gently pushed the plunger down, sending his blood into her IV.

  “Casey, tell me if you have any trouble breathing or you start to itch,” Nathan said.

  “I have to pee,” she said.

  “You’re going to have to hold it, sweetie,” Nathan said, still sending his blood into her. Nathan looked up at Jasmine. “See how I eased it in over ten minutes?” Jasmine nodded. “Here, you take over. She gets four more syringes’ worth.”

  Feeling dizzy, Nathan lay down beside Casey. Ares moved from the other side of Casey between her and Nathan, putting his head on Nathan’s chest. As Jasmine took over, Nathan patted Ares’s head. “You should stay with her.”

  “He’s beside me, that’s all that matters,” Casey said, patting Ares’s back.

  When Jasmine had the third one in, Nathan was feeling lightheaded. “John, get me a bottle of water.”

  Jasmine stopped and looked at him. “What?”

  “Nothing, keep going,” Nathan said as John handed him a bottle of water. Nathan sucked it down in one pull.

  Jasmine started mumbling to herself then looked over her shoulder. “Find Nathan something to eat, like a cookie from the MREs.” Jasmine turned, looking down at Nathan. “I’ve given blood before, but you haven’t slept, and have been constantly moving. Now shut it.”

  Nathan laid his head down as Emma climbed up his body and lay down, putting her head beside Ares. “Hey, doodle bug,” Nathan said, patting her. “I hope someone is keeping an eye on the M-U.”

  “It’s right here behind us,” Tom said, watching the process.

  Amanda put down the notebook she was writing in. “Nathan, I just want to point something out. The E-M-F-T-U that they call a Mew. It’s second generation.” Nathan blinked, not really seeing what she was pointing out. “Nathan, it’s Mewtwo,” she said. Nathan was still lost. “Like the Pokémon.”

  Nathan started to chuckle, along with everyone else. It worked into a laugh and Casey splinted her stomach as she tried not to laugh hard. Nathan wiped his eyes. “Damn, I didn’t see that one.”

  John chuckled. “They call the dune buggies Warthogs.”

  “Those are in Halo,” Amanda said.

  Nathan smiled. “Those guys like video games. I have to say I do as well.”

  “Nathan,” Amanda said, “what if they called them that so if anyone heard or read about it they would blow it off?”

  Thinking about it, “It’s possible,” he admitted with a nod.

  “Lonny called the groups around us ‘players’ more than once in your notes,” Amanda said.

  Nathan closed his eyes so the room would quit spinning. “Amanda, I do not doubt you, but I can’t think now.”

  “Amanda, later,” Jasmine said, easing the last syringe in. Amanda looked at Nathan and smiled. She rubbed his shoulder and continued rewriting his notes.

  When Jasmine was finished she held up the blood transfer device. “Nathan, how do I clean this?”

  He opened his eyes. “Throw it away; we can’t risk it out here. We have one more.”

  Natalie handed Jasmine some cookies and crackers. Jasmine forced Nathan to eat them and drink another bottle of water. Slowly sitting up, Nathan looked at Casey and noticed her skin was pinker. John slipped inside and gently picked up Casey, carrying her outside so she could use the bathroom.

  “She looks better,” Jasmine said, taking the IV out of Nathan’s arm.

  “We’ll know how bad the bleeding is by how much blood we have to give her,” Nathan said.

  “We can’t just keep giving her blood if it’s leaking into her belly,” Jasmine said.

  “If we can’t operate, yes we can,” Nathan said, reaching for his messenger bag.

  Like he was carrying nitroglycerin, John gently carried Casey back in and laid her down. Ares moved his head off Nathan and put it on Casey. “Casey, what do you want me to read?” Nathan asked.

  “Do you have Harry Potter?” she asked hopefully with a full smile.

  “I have all of them,” Nathan said, pulling out a pack under his head and turning on his tablet. Nathan started reading as the sun fell from its high noon spot. The group sat and listened, enjoying the small break from reality in this new harsh world.

  Chapter 21

  Day 55

  Feeling a tongue licking his face, Nathan groaned. “That better be Jasmine.” He opened his eyes to see Ares panting over him. “You know I don’t like that.”

  Ares whined and looked away across the tent. Nathan shot up, instantly awake. Following Ares’s gaze, he saw Casey grimace. Nathan crawled over bodies, not caring if he woke them, which was good because when he sat up quickly he threw a sleeping Emma off his chest. Luckily, Emma rolled off and landed in a pile of blankets, still asleep.

  “What’s wrong, little one?” Nathan asked with a worried tone.

  “I have to pee really bad,” Casey groaned. Nathan got up and gently picked her up and carried her outside, not bothering to grab anything. He found Natalie outside with Athena and the Mew on the card table and her watching the screen in the morning sunrise.

  Nathan gave her a smile as he walked over to the bathroom area. They had made a small seat using long sticks tied between some trees. Helping Casey sit down, Nathan turned around. “Thank you,” Casey gasped in relief.

  “You’re welcome,” Nathan smiled. Casey’s skin was still pink.

  “I’m done,” Casey said. Nathan picked her up. “Nathan, will you
promise me something?”

  “Whatever you want,” Nathan said, walking back to the tent.

  “If something happens to me, don’t leave me behind. I want to be buried close to where you guys are,” she said in a serious voice.

  Just hearing that, Nathan felt his legs getting weak and he started gasping for breath. “Nothing’s going to happen. You look better today.”

  “I just don’t want to get left behind,” Casey said, looking down.

  “Casey, I swear to you on everything I am, I would never leave you behind,” Nathan said as tears rolled down his face.

  Casey leaned her head onto Nathan’s chest. “Thank you. That’s what has always scared me. I would be all alone.”

  “You will never be alone,” Nathan promised, feeling like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “Let’s have you stay outside today,” Nathan said, setting Casey in one of the folding chairs. Casey put her little arms on the arms of the chair.

  “I would like that,” she said.

  Nathan went inside the tent and grabbed some blankets. He padded Casey’s chair and pulled another one over, resting her feet on it. The two camping chairs facing each other were so large they almost formed a bed for Casey. Trying to get what Casey had asked about out of his head, Nathan examined her.

  Her pulse was strong and her skin was good and pink. The bruise still covered her belly, but it wasn’t as dark, and Nathan almost started dancing when he measured her belly and found it was smaller than it had been the previous night.

  Much happier, Nathan started fixing breakfast. With his coffee brewing, Nathan went over to the pile of Homeland equipment and picked up one of the radios. He looked at the screen and turned it on. He saw his red and white dot get much whiter, but the screen didn’t fuzz out.

  He heard some radio traffic and set the radio down where he was fixing breakfast. It wasn’t long before the others came out. Jasmine squatted down beside him, pouring a cup of coffee. “I almost passed out from not seeing Casey.”